Dog House Training

Bringing home a new puppy is always an exciting and fun time for the family. We all love playing with the new puppy. One thing no one seems to like about the puppy though, is his using the house as his potty. Try using the crate training method for house training your new puppy-it is definitely the easiest and best way. I used to do it the old fashioned newspaper on the floor way (with predictably “crappy” results).The paper method did work in a manner of sorts, but it was a lot more work and occasionally my puppy would somehow miss the papers. The dark night I stepped on one of these misses, deviously hidden on the way to the bathroom by my sneaky puppy, was the night I decided to give crate training a try.

If you use the crate training method, you won’t have nearly so many opportunities for “accidents” to happen prior to completely house training him.  To properly use the crate training system the puppy must stay inside his crate unless someone is paying attention to him (for example during playtime, or feeding he should always be supervised). Murphy’s Law says the moment you take your eyes off your puppy, he’ll pick that moment to go potty in the house.

• Crate training puppies will work best if you keep the crate and the puppy inside it near you whenever possible. For someone who works at home, keep him with you in your work area.  By being close to the puppy you’ll know when it is time to take him out for relief. Except for potty breaks or when you have a couple hours free for a supervised play time you’ll want to keep him in the crate-don’t let him out just because he is bored and whining .

• Watch for sings of the puppy waking up from one of his naps-they always have to go potty right after waking up.  You will also notice your puppy will relieve himself within about 20 minutes at most after eating and drinking, so don’t put him back in the crate until that has happened.Training him to use the same area you have determined as his spot every time you take him out reinforces the idea of going then and there.

• When it is time for the puppy to have a nice break, you can feed him, play with him, and make sure he gets enough exercise and maybe a little early training that he is tired out when he gets back in the crate. If he is tired out, there is a good chance he might sleep the next 2 hours and not have any boredom issues before it is time for the next fun break.

• Being consistent with the crate training is crucial to making it work right. If you aren’t good about keeping him in his crate when unsupervised, accidents are going to happen. Once the smell is in the carpet or on the floor, it will be harder to stop these accidents from reoccurring in the future.  If you find the occasional pile or puddle, do not yell or hit your puppy-he won’t understand why you are doing so. If you happen to see your puppy about to squat, try to stop him with a firm “No” command, and take him outside to the regular spot.  Remember, the potty training should always focus on praise and reward for a good job-using the right spot-but don’t get negative if there is an occasional setback. Your results with the crate training method for house breaking your puppy will be best if you really keep to the system.

After using the crate training method the first time, I could tell it kicked butt on the  old fashioned newspaper technique. Maybe my pup was a quick learner, but within a couple weeks or so, he was house training.  I did lose a little sleep at first if he whined at night, but I made sure the puppy didn’t eat late or drink very much before going to bed for the night, so that wasn’t as big a problem as I would have thought. Don’t use the crate as a punishment tool-you want him to view the crate as his safe and comfortable den, and for him to have only a positive attitude bout being in there.

So, if you are about to get or just got  a new puppy you will be smart to use this crate training method for house training your new pet. I read the Ultimate Guide to House Training from Kingdom of Pets, and I recommend it highly to you. This book is a very complete course on house training and caring for your young puppy-check out my review to see if you might want to get it .The Ultimate House Training Guide Review.

To get your copy of The Ultimate House Training Guide, click here.